


I am become death

by heelipabo



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Gun Violence, Immortal husbands but not really, Intended as a oneshot but likely chaptered, Joe & Nicky, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of drugs, Nicky & Joe, Nicky x Joe, Nicolo & Yusuf, Nicolo x Yusuf, Sorry Not Sorry, The Old Guard - Freeform, Violence, Yusuf & Nicolo, joe x nicky - Freeform, kaysanova, mentions of abuse, mentions of human trafficking, mixed POVs, tog - Freeform, yusuf x nicolo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:20:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27574400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heelipabo/pseuds/heelipabo
Summary: What if they never met during the Crusades?What if their immortality is a newly discovered gift in the modern times?And what if they make use of it in drastically different ways?Essentially two sides of a coin. Polar opposites.A story where good and bad mix together under the most unexpected circumstances.*
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	I am become death

**Author's Note:**

> #1 First and foremost, this is an au. It's a different take on Joe&Nicky as an immortal couple - or not nearly a couple.  
> Neither of them is centuries old and they have vastly contrasting approaches to their immortality and how they exploit it.
> 
> #2 Also, initially this was meant to be a _very_ short fic just to let out the idea that has been sitting in my head for days, but I'm already noting down potential story points. It may or may not turn into a chaptered fic (thus marking it as such). Oops. And if so, it won't be tightly linear - more like a selection of sporadic moments that do further the plot, but happen over a period of a few months/years.
> 
> #3 Thank you [Emily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizEmily/pseuds/MizEmily) for being my beta on this. It's a mystery to me how you have not self-combusted already from my constant onslaught of Joe x Nicky fic ideas :D
> 
> #4 The last, but not the least: This fic is inspired by a short story courtesy of [@nilefreemans on Tumblr](https://nilefreemans.tumblr.com/post/634468471845093376/i-could-kill-you-right-now-in-a-playful-tone). Thank you for this!
> 
> Enjoy! Comments and kudos will be reciprocated with virtual hugs and kisses :)
> 
> *

For quite some time Nicky has been on law enforcement’s radar. Could be because of his flawless reputation, that of an anonymous justice warrior, but more likely it’s the kill count he has under his belt. 

Taking out bad guys is what he was born to do, and it just so happens that with the unfathomed gift of immortality, he can do it until the Earth stops spinning. He’s been granted unlimited tokens on his life, and he intends to use them wisely.

Over the last few decades many have fallen victim to his vigilante actions: from sleazy abusers, to criminals from a variety of seedy underbellies. And really, nothing makes a kill as satisfying as shooting the balls off a child molester, or summoning a hail of bullets down on untouchable human traffickers. 

Still, killing is killing.

Needless to say, those who protect and serve caught onto him a while back, although no one has ever been able to identify him as the culprit. He uses the very simple yet effective disguise of a black hoodie and a black face mask, and only ever leaves his eyes exposed. Not much of a clue here either, as, when he’s not glued to the scope of his sniper rifle, he goes on his missions mostly under the shadows of the night. 

He makes sure not to have any witnesses either, so the only people who could ever say they saw him do his dirty deeds would be the ones from whom he steals the very last of their breaths.

Over the years, he’s had his run-ins with the police or even CIA, but none was quite like that one time he met an FBI special agent who was particularly caught up in catching him. They’ve been at it for quite some time - too long to call it just a regular chase. The man was obsessed, and somehow that tickled Nicky’s fancy.

It all changed when he came relatively close to getting caught - until he realized his would-be arresting officer shared his dangerous little secret.

_They’re both immortal._

This was quickly discovered when they attacked each other at the same time, yet saw their respective wounds heal right in front of their eyes.

“You’re like me,” Special Agent Joe Jones said then, half-lying on the ground and watching Nicky’s forehead spit out a bullet, while a deep stab wound from a precisely thrown knife was already closing itself up right over Joe’s heart.

They have been at it ever since. Knowing each other’s secret, Nicky realized threatening to do bodily harm to the other man would be futile. And just as well he could never be arrested, not with the ever-present danger of him revealing Joe’s secret to his fellow brothers-in-arms. 

They were each other’s weak point, forever stuck at a stalemate.

Finding some sort of common ground, a truce if you will, seemed like the most obvious thing to do in this situation. Working together would have been the next step, but Joe’s conscience wouldn’t allow it. What he did allow himself though was looking the other way when Nicky was out on his vigilante pursuits. He still would much rather arrest the guy, but that would never be possible, not without the man retaliating. Joe was more at risk here - something told him that even if their secret was out, Nicky would be the one to find a sneaky way out of it and disappear as the hunt to unlocking the mystery behind their immortality began. He’d never be seen again and it would be Joe locked up in a lab.

Joe is not sure whether or not he is more worried about being left behind to deal with it, or the fact that his path would never cross with that of the infuriatingly alluring vigilante.

* * *

They settle into a routine. It always starts with an official report or a potential sighting of a crime. If it happens in one of the four most shady areas in the city, Joe can bet all his money Nicky is involved. He’s the first on the scene, making sure the coast is clear. And by clear, he means rid of any and all evidence that could lead his fellow officers to his partner, for lack of a better word.

Despite what Nicky does, Joe can’t help but to admire him for it at least a little bit. Joe has laws to follow, which more often than not prohibits him from going after someone who truly deserves it. His badge is both a privilege and a hindrance. Nicky doesn’t have to hurdle over that particular obstacle. While vigilante justice is never a solution to which someone should resort, Joe is secretly glad that at least through it there are less bad people out there who do more good dead than when they’re alive.

Joe likes to think he knows Nicky by now, or a version of him at least. They’ve never really met outside of the usual nightly bloody adventures, but from the series of short encounters over the years he can deduce that Nicky is calculated, capable, and extremely patient. He does a significant part of his killing from afar with a sniper rifle, which requires a great deal of composure as well as physical and mental endurance. Even when he attacks head-on, he does his homework. This usually involves stalking his victim, learning their habits, and using various means to corner his prey without them realizing it until the very last moment. 

Nicky is also audacious and sarcastic to a fault, knowing Joe’s trigger points better than he does himself, and using them to push his buttons to his amusement. He’s charmingly brazen in doing so, being well aware Joe is not entirely upset about it. Just like Nicky, he enjoys their little push-and-pull dance, the cat & mouse chase that’s been going on for nearly half a decade.

* * *

Nicky gets a tip about a large drug deal happening in the south part of the city harbor. He’s been trying to nail this particular drug lord for weeks now, but he’s proven to be almost as elusive as Nicky. 

_Almost._

What he fails to account for is the involvement of one rather persistent law enforcement agent.

Having been a sniper most of his long immortal life, it is virtually impossible to sneak up on him. Many tried, thinking they had the upper hand and the element of surprise, but he always made their premature triumph cut short. Literally.

So it’s a rather impressive feat when someone does succeed. Never happened before, but here he is, perched in the middle of a platform on a construction crane, his trusty rifle at the ready, already leading his mark, when the click of a hammer being cocked sounds behind him and he freezes.

He counts the throwing knives he has on him, locating the one in the sheath strapped to his upper arm, and readies himself to plunge it into the heart of whoever is behind him and has yet to take a shot. He will pay for that mistake with his life.

The tip of a gun is pressed to the back of Nicky’s hooded head, and there’s a low, familiar chuckle just as Nicky’s fingers wrap around the hilt of the dagger.

“You know that won’t do much.”

Despite himself, Nicky releases a sigh of relief. He half-turns to eye the person behind him, already tugging down his face mask. He’s still crouching, and this angle presents Joe in all his militant glory. He has his hair pulled back, wearing that ridiculous backwards baseball cap, exposing his dark, gleaming eyes to the dim glow of the city lights. Nicky notes the man has tamed his beard a bit, and he has to admit he looks good post-trim. Far less shabby than the last time Nicky saw him, and infinitely more irresistible. As for his attire, it’s what Nicky tends to see him in the most - it can only be described as a suit minus a jacket, with the addition of a bulletproof vest. 

Nicky snorts. “Keeping up appearances there, are we?” He stands up, pulls back his rifle, and drapes it over his shoulder. His target is not going anywhere anytime soon. He can allow himself a few minutes with his annoying other half.

Joe still has his gun pointed at him in an unbothered fashion - it’s apparent he doesn’t mean to harm Nicky in any way. Besides, the most he could do with it is slow him down for no longer than the time it takes to jump off a building.

Joe smirks. “And you’re slipping. To let me sneak up behind you like that. What if I were one of them?” He asks, pointing with his chin toward the other end of the harbor where all the baddies are.

“Then you would have already been dead,” Nicky says and turns his back on him, propping his gun on the metal railing. 

He’s very aware of Joe’s eyes all over him, observing his every flex of muscles as he positions himself to take a shot. He doesn’t mind the ogling, but maybe Joe could pick a more fortunate moment than this; it may or may not be throwing Nicky off his game, and there’s no greater turn-off than a missed mark.

There’s a sigh, and soon Joe moves closer to Nicky, leaning his back against the railing and looking away from what Nicky is about to do.

“You’re not going to stop me?” Nicky asks absent-mindedly as he looks through the scope to locate the target again. 

He only came to shoot one of them, but he’s so pent up he may just let them all have it. There’s not a single good person down there, and it’s a wonder how no one has shot them before.

He feels Joe’s eyes on him again and almost looks at the man when he opens a flap on his vest and pulls something out. From the glint Nicky catches in the corner of his eyes as Joe turns the object lazily in his fingers, he makes an educated guess it’s the same throwing knife Nicky served him with the first time they crossed paths. 

“Nothing I say will change your mind,” Joe says quietly, with that guilt-inducing tone in his voice.

“You’re right.” Nicky says, turning his gun slowly to the left as the target moves. 

The drug lord is now standing right between two other equal scumbags, perfectly lined up like ducks in a row. There’s a hazy chance the bullet will penetrate and kill all three of them from such a distance and the downward angle, but Nicky is confident at least two of them will meet their demise in a matter of seconds.

“You may want to get ready,” he warns Joe, and directs all his attention to the unsuspecting targets.

Joe hums in response, and lets Nicky do what he came here to do.

The bullet rings through the dead of the night, hitting the first of the men in the throat; the next one gets it in the chest right before it comes to a stop in the last man’s thigh. Nicky reloads, never taking his eyes off the third one still drawing breath, and he doubles back to finish him off. He joins his pals in the puddle of their blood, while the remaining insignificant goons scatter away like mice.

For the second time that evening, Nicky pulls back his gun. He hangs it over his shoulder on a strap, and turns to Joe who has now stopped twirling the knife and is returning Nicky’s expectant gaze.

Nicky sends him his trademark grin. “Now, how about dinner?”


End file.
